How can large corporations build relationships with suppliers?

The SA automotive sector presents a unique dynamic between large multinational OEMs and Tier 1s, and emerging domestic suppliers. These domestic suppliers are often required to compete with larger global suppliers with extensive institutional knowledge. Large corporations have the responsibility of setting realistic expectations for the smaller supplier - mainly in terms of expected quality conformity; expected pricing; minimum testing requirements; etc. It is only by providing this clear information, that smaller suppliers can efficiently allocate resources to eventually result in a commercial relationship with a large corporate

Building strong relationships with suppliers is critical for large corporations. Here are some strategies to foster and maintain these relationships: thru Communication and Transparency, Supplier Collaboration, Performance Metrics and KPIs, Long-Term Contracts, Fair and Ethical Practices, Performance-Based Incentives, Continuous Improvement, Conflict Resolution, Technology and Collaboration Platforms and Supplier Audits and Assessments. By implementing these strategies, large corporations can build and maintain strong, mutually beneficial relationships with their suppliers, resulting in a more efficient and resilient supply chain.

Two parties Organization and the Vendor or the Supplier have something in common. For building any relationship either parties must know their goals each other. It is easy accomplish your goal if you define the process in such a way that it helps the end need of your customer. Supplier evaluation basis on their performance is the key to build a strong and sustainable relationship which meets the end need of the customer. Take feedbacks from the relevant stakeholders to have a complete understanding of the supplier performance.

Building strong and mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers is crucial for large corporations. To build these relationships , maintain open and transparent communication , regularly assess your supplier performance , make them feel like values part of your organization , Regular meeting and reviews ensure that both you and your suppliers understand roles, responsibilities, service level agreement , these will lead to better service , reduce cost , and quality service improvement.

The most important thing in relationship building is two-way open communication & and your approach towards vendors is collaborative, finding a win-win solution while doing any transaction. You can also build relationships by sharing information on current trends in the market.

Have a high level of integrity between both parties. Be open, honest & walk the talk. Always engage in a win-win model for both parties. Short term gains will NOT build a lasting relationship. We treat suppliers as our partners and an extension of our supply chain. When they do well, we do well. Having this level of trust & confidence will motivate suppliers to give us priority in difficult times, work on providing efficient cost models.

Great approach, I would also conduct a robust due diligence on the shortlisted suppliers. Covering the contract and commercials, technical capability to deliver the SOW, financial stability of the organisation and some site visits and discussion with reference customers of similar SOW.

For sourcing organization, it is always important to invest time and perform fact-based analysis backed by research to provide relevant input and insights to form a clear understanding of the strength and weakness of the supplier, and keep in mind the implications of the gathered background information on how to position the relationship in a way that brings value to both parties. No two buyer-supplier relationships are identical. Being a large corporation may or may not give the leverage one might think in a particular buyer-supplier relationship. Doing research will help sourcing organization avoid falling in the trap of " assuming I can always dictate the terms mindset".

Hear what the suppliers say and check what they do. Bring your own team and interact with their team if you have a complete team. Purchasing Vs Sales; Quality Vs Quality; Engineering Vs Engineering; Finance Vs Finance, etc. build a score card by each team member concerning their part of work and put them together. If you don't have a full team, you may still set your priorities, start talking to the sales and quaity team, evaluate their work process and documentation to understand if you're a good fit for each other. An ideal partner may have 20-30% of their business with you, and you both have a similar goal to grow the business.

Various channels and strategies - according to the importance of supplier for us and volume of transactions. Organisations dont have time and resources to manage every single supplier the same way. Tactical suppliers delivering defined/ standardized goods in indirect category where the market is competitive (a lot of suppliers) requires not so much attention and resources to manage as strategic ones on limited higly technology dependent category ones.

Building a partnership is key. You do not just need a supplier, but a partner that works with you to improve your business. Understanding that your supplier also has needs, you must identify that common ground to build that relationship.

you can't innovate just from within a company. Leveraging an ecosystem of suppliers and partners provides a possibility for value engineering, innovation and continuous improvement of products, costs and services. Joint planning of strategic initiatives support a strengthening of relationships and the possibility to serially win together.

The foundation is, as the buyer ( even you are in reality, but don't really read yourself as a client), you should read the relationship as partnership, be honestly to be likes this. Then, think about what benefit you can bring to supplier? At the same time you get benefits as well from the partnership. If you regard yourself as buyer always, and enjoying your bargaining power as buyer, you will never build up the relationships.

Supply Partners are critical elements in success of any #SupplyChain and subsequently the organisations. Supply Partners not only provide the materials/services but can contribute immensely towards market intelligence and awareness on latest trends. Its difficult for large corporations to drive non-core capabilities and Supply Partners can fulfill this gap effectively. Large corporations can engage Supply partners early in their strategic requirements, exchange expectations and drive upgradations regularly to strengthen the relationships. Ensuring fairness and sustainability should be the priority of Large corporations while driving the competitive advantage amongst the Supply Partners. #CSLearnings

For critical buyer-supplier relationship, the time and effort invested to allow the top leaders from both organizations involved and engaged will pay a huge dividend. At one point of my career, as a supplier relationship owner, I had to turn around a key supplier performance in multiple areas in a relatively short period of time. While driving the improvement activities, I set up a senior level meeting between our organization, a division of a Fortune 500 company, and the supplier. The meeting involved executives from both sides and kicked off the initiative in a formal and structured way. It gave the initiative a jump start. The top leaders' involvement and engagement ultimately played an instrumental role in the success of the initiative.

A clear supplier segmentation helps to identify the few that will drive main value from a partnering approach. Shared values and mutual goals are important to be sure that both sides see benefits in the partnership development. Once an agreement is signed, you should start to connect relevant people across different functions in a governed process to identify key programs to develop and implement. A longterm agreement is not a guarantee for success, but the beginning of a joint investment of resources, into people, systems, and processes that lead to customer centric innovation and value creation for both parties, if focus and alignment is kept. Shared values are fundamental! #B2B #SupplierRelationships #ValueCreation.

My insights are similar, but exactly from the viewpoint of the supplier. Exact same processes are taking place. There is a high dependency between the 2 parties, often unknown or not acknowledged. Open communication and trust are key to build lasting relationships. To be vulnerable around ones needs takes courage. Creating a true win-win will remain a challenge, as often organizations will focus on shortterm gains, rather than on sustainable lasting relationships.

I find it interesting that the other side of the relationship is missing from this narrative. Suppliers need to trust that their customers will pay them on time. Payment is possibly the most critical part of the supplier relationship and this should be part of the go to market strategy. Make the payment part of the conversation and offer a flexible approach to financing the deal. At the same time ensure the finance team has visibility of the agreement. For example, better terms of the supplier when they move from a bronze to silver sustainability score. This is how you build trust and a true partnership. If you just award and walk away until renewal it's not a real partnership and suppliers know that!